


a fool's errand

by ZephyrEden



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Canon Compliant, Darkness, Drabble, Gen, turning to nobodies, y'all really should've listened to ansem and stopped your bullshit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-21
Updated: 2018-07-21
Packaged: 2019-06-14 00:11:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15376449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZephyrEden/pseuds/ZephyrEden
Summary: It comes to a point where there's no backing out, no escape from the consequences they had foolishly brought upon themselves. It doesn't stop Even from trying to offer what little comfort he can to a child far too young to have to endure this.





	a fool's errand

It’s dark in the lab.

They’re used to it being dark. It’s one of the only ways to naturally conduct research on the effects of darkness on the heart, after all. They invite the shadows in, allowing a greed for results and answers to taint the hearts trapped in tubes until the light starts to flicker out of them.

It’s never like this, though.

The shadows creep along the floor and the walls, glowing eyes and bulbous forms bubbling up from blackness like smoke and liquid. They’re trapped.

“Was this his plan along?” Even mutters to himself, gritting his teeth as backs up closer to the center of the room. “That amnesiac _brat_.”

“Even.” The voice is so small, so quiet, that he almost mistakes it for a whisper. Small fingers curl around the hem of his sleeve and tug once for his attention. He looks down at the boy, the _child_ , huddling closer to his side. It’s rare enough for him to speak and, even only being able to see one of his eyes, the fear is clear in them. “I’m scared.”

He’ll get Xehanort for this.

“It’s alright, Ienzo,” he says with a calm he doesn’t feel, his heart racing in his chest. “Just close your eyes and we’ll be fine.” He’s gentle as he puts his hand on the back of the child’s head and guides him to hide his face in the side of his coat.

The creatures are fully formed now and they set their eyes on the gathering of people in the room. He watches the people he’s come to almost consider friends fall, the ones that rushed in to guard them. The others here are still barely grown enough to not be called youths. This is his fault. He’s a fool, searching for answers where he shouldn’t be looking.

He should have heeded Ansem’s word.

The creatures they’ve come to know as Heartless lunge at him and Ienzo. He can feel the way their shadowy claws slip like tendrils through his chest and wrap around his beating heart.

“It hurts,” Ienzo whimpers, both hands clutching tightly at Even’s coat. Even knows it does. It feels like his lungs are collapsing and his heart is bursting and suffocation claws at the back of his throat.

And just as quickly as it comes, it ends. He doesn’t feel a wild beating in his chest anymore.

The hands drop from his coat limply. He looks down at Ienzo, the boy’s head turned towards the ground.

“Are you scared anymore?” he asks in a bored monotone, already knowing the answer.

Ienzo looks up at him, his eye void of emotion. “No.”

**Author's Note:**

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